Scatter graphics: Bundesliga, 2016/17

Now that all of the main European domestic seasons are at a close (barring a few play-offs), I thought I’d compile a full-season set of scatter graphics. Each of the three graphics is explained briefly below but there’s a longer explanation here.

Shot dominance

First of all, here is how the number of shots taken by each club compares with those they face in return. The average number of shots taken per match is on the horizontal and the average number faced is on the vertical, so bottom right (take plenty, allow few in return) is good while top left (take few, allow plenty) is bad. The stripes are like contours: the greener the stripe, the better the performance (and vice versa for red).

Bayern were unsurprisingly the most dominant team in the division by quite some distance: they created around three more shots per game than anyone else and allow over a shot fewer than the next most disciplined defence.

In the opposite corner are bottom-of-the-table Darmstadt, who took the fewest shots of all and also allowed the most in return.

The trio of Dortmund, Leipzig and Frankfurt all allowed impressively few shots at their goal, but only the former matched that with a large number of chances created.

Attacking effectiveness

Now let’s look at attacking alone. The horizontal axis stays the same as in the graphic above, but now the vertical shows the average number of shots needed to score each league goal. Therefore bottom right is good (taking lots of shots and needing fewer efforts to convert) and top left is bad:

While Bayern created the most opportunities, both Werder Bremen and Leipzig were more clinical at converting shots into goals despite troubling defences far less frequently.

Despite taking a marginally above-average number of shots, both Wolfsburg and Ingolstadt finished in the bottom three thanks to some wasteful finishing.

Defensive effectiveness

Next let’s look at the defensive situation – basically take the above chart and replace the word “taken” for “faced” on both axes. Now top left is good – facing fewer shots and able to soak up more per goal conceded – and bottom right is bad:

Bayern are in a class of their own here, making the impressively resilient defences of Köln and Hoffenheim look modest in comparison. Köln’s resilience kept them in the top half of the table despite only three clubs allowing more shots at their goal.

Hamburg and Leverkusen were the leakiest this season – soaking up just over half as many efforts as the champions for each goal conceded – despite allowing a relatively average number of chances.